But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Facob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not; for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. ISA. xliii. I. THOU art as much His care as if beside GOD J. KEBLE. OD beholds thee individually, whoever thou "He calls thee by thy name." He art. sees thee, and understands thee. He knows what is in thee, all thy own peculiar feelings and thoughts, thy dispositions and likings, thy strength and thy weakness. He views thee in thy day of rejoicing and thy day of sorrow. He sympathizes in thy hopes and in thy temptations; He interests himself in all thy anxieties and thy remembrances, in all the risings and fallings of thy spirit. He compasses thee round, and bears thee in His arms; He takes thee up and sets thee down. Thou dost not love thyself better than He loves thee. Thou canst not shrink from pain more than He dislikes thy bearing it; and if He puts it on thee, it is as thou wilt put it on thyself, iî thou art wise, for a greater good afterwards. J. H. NEWMAN. The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon Him, to all that call upon Him in truth. - Ps. cxlv. 18. I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and deliv ered me from all my fears. Ps. xxxiv. 4. BE Thou, O Rock of Ages, nigh! So shall each murmuring thought be gone; As clouds before the mid-day sun. C. WESLEY. TAKE courage, and turn your troubles, which are without remedy, into material for spirital progress. Often turn to our Lord, who is watching you, poor frail little being as you are, amid your labors and distractions. He sends you help, and blesses your affliction. This thought should enable you to bear your troubles patiently and gently, for love of Him who only allows you to be tried for your own good. Raise your heart continually to God, seek His aid, and let the foundation stone of your consolation be your happiness in being His. All vexations and annoy. ances will be comparatively unimportant while you know that you have such a Friend, such a Stay, such a Refuge. May God be ever in your heart. FRANCIS DE SALES Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Ps. xxxvii. 3. LE BUILD a little fence of trust Around to-day; Fill the space with loving work, And therein stay ; Look not through the sheltering bars Upon to-morrow, God will help thee bear what comes, Of joy or sorrow. MARY FRANCES BUTTS. ET us bow our souls and say, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord!" Let us lift up our hearts and ask, "Lord, what wouldst thou have me to do?" Then light from the opened heaven shall stream on our daily task, revealing the grains of gold, where yesterday all seemed dust; a hand shall sustain us and our daily burden, so that, smiling at yesterday's fears, we shall say, "This is easy, this is light;" every "lion in the way,” as we come up to it, shall be seen chained, and leave open the gates of the Palace Beautiful ; and to us, even to us, feeble and fluctuating as we are, ministries shall be assigned, and through our hands blessings shall be conveyed in which the spirits of just men made perfect might delight. ELIZABETH CHARLES Beloved, let us love one another: for love is God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. I JOHN iv. 7. THE So to the calmly gathered thought J. G. WHITTIER. 'HE Spirit of Love, wherever it is, is its own blessing and happiness, because it is the truth and reality of God in the soul; and therefore is in the same joy of life, and is the same good to itself everywhere and on every occasion. Would you know the blessing of all blessings? It is this God of Love dwelling in your soul, and killing every root of bitterness, which is the pain and torment of every earthly, selfish love. For all wants are satisfied, all disorders of nature are removed, no life is any longer a burden, every day is a day of peace, everything you meet becomes a help to you, because everything you see or do is all done in the sweet, gentle element of Love. WM. LAW Unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his wings.MAL. iv. 2. O send out Thy light and Thy truth; let them lead me. Ps. xliii. 3. OPEN our eyes, thou Sun of life and gladness, Who have th' eternal towers for our appointed bourn. BECAUSE all those scattered rays of beauty and loveliness which we behold spread up and down over all the world, are only the emanations of that inexhausted light which is above; therefore should we love them all in that, and climb up always by those sunbeams unto the eternal Father of lights: we should look upon Him, and take from Him the pattern of our lives, and always eying Him, should, as Hierocles speaks, "polish and shape our souls into the clearest resemblance of Him;" and in all our behavior in this world (that great temple of His) deport ourselves decently and reverently, with that humility, meekness, and modesty that becomes His house. DR. JOHN SMITH, d. 1652 |